Breaking news
Other open wheel
Norris decides against defending TRS crown
Reigning Toyota Racing Series champion Lando Norris will not return to defend his title in 2017, citing other commitments and needing more time to prepare for European Formula 3 championship.
Darshan Chokhani
Edited: Dec 22, 2016, 1:04 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The 17-year-old had previously announced his return to the New Zealand-based series after winning the 2016 edition with the M2 Competition squad.
But since then, Norris has confirmed his F3 switch with Carlin and also won the prestigious McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, which has increased his workload off-track in the build-up to the 2017 season.
“I'm massively disappointed to miss out on the opportunity to defend my Toyota Racing Series title but I believe I’ve taken the right decision although it was a very hard one to reach," said Norris.
"2016 has been a very busy year of racing that started in January and finished in November.
"I need to be in the best possible shape, mentally and physically, from the start of the Euro F3 season in April – being successful in F3 is my number one priority in 2017 so unfortunately it’s a case of sacrificing the TRS opportunity.
"Additionally, having recently won the McLaren Autosport Award, I really want to spend time at the Autosport International Show in January where I’ll also now have important commitments for the BRDC."
Red Bull juniors head entry list
Following Norris' decision to pull out, 19 drivers have been confirmed to contest the 2017 season, with Red Bull juniors Richard Verschoor and Luis Leeds heading up the entry list.
Drivers returning for a second season include Force India protege Jehan Daruvala, F3 regular Pedro Piquet, Ferdinand Habsburg, Brendon Leitch, Taylor Cockerton and Thomas Randle - the latter racing for full season after contesing just the one round in 2016.
2017 TRS entry list:
Drivers: 
Jehan Daruvala 
Ferdinand Habsburg 
Pedro Piquet 
Richard Verschoor 
Luis Leeds 
Brendon Leitch Marcus Armstrong Taylor Cockerton
Thomas Randle
Enaam Ahmed
Keyvan Andres Soori
Ameya Vaidyanathan
Nikita Lastochkin
Shelby Blackstock
Kami Laliberte
Kory Enders
Christian Hahn
Harry Hayek
Thomas Neubauer
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Vaidyanathan joins MTEC for 2017 TRS season
Next article Ruapuna TRS: Ferrari junior Armstrong wins season opener
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Darshan Chokhani
Mahindra hurt by 'bad grid position' in Qatar Moto3
Moto3
Moto3
Losail
Mahindra hurt by 'bad grid position' in Qatar Moto3
Kornfeil puts Peugeot in Top 3 on final Moto3 test day
Moto3
Moto3
Jerez March testing
Kornfeil puts Peugeot in Top 3 on final Moto3 test day
Dalla Porta takes charge for Mahindra on Day 2 in Moto3 test
Moto3
Moto3
Jerez March testing
Dalla Porta takes charge for Mahindra on Day 2 in Moto3 test
More from
Lando Norris
F1 Brazilian GP: Sunday schedule, weather forecast and how to watch
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
F1 Brazilian GP: Sunday schedule, weather forecast and how to watch
Latest news
Alex Bowman hits out at critics in snarky post, shooting down early exit rumors
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
3 h
Alex Bowman hits out at critics in snarky post, shooting down early exit rumors
Ryan Blaney gets sweet redemption after 'nightmares' following 2024 Homestead loss
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
3 h
Ryan Blaney gets sweet redemption after 'nightmares' following 2024 Homestead loss
IndyCar 2026 season review: Dale Coyne Racing
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 3 h
IndyCar 2026 season review: Dale Coyne Racing
Noah Gragson apologizes to Daniel Suarez for spinning him at Homestead
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
3 h
Noah Gragson apologizes to Daniel Suarez for spinning him at Homestead
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe